Hidden inside the Hello Kitty Grand Cafe at the Irvine Spectrum Center sits a speakeasy bar. A golden bow-shaped door knocker clues you in that something special awaits beyond.

Behind that door is The Bow Room, a secluded haven for Sanrio fanatics. During the day, the cafe presents an Instagram-worthy tea service with gilded Hello Kitty pedestals decorated with Sanrio-inspired confections and delicate cones brimmed with chilled egg salad. A cutesy – albeit expected – display for the first Hello Kitty Cafe of its kind in the U.S.

The real surprise awaits guests in the evening, when the space transforms into a plush pink cocktail bar. Knowing that this is when the cool cats come out to play, co-proprietors Alan Tea and Urania Chien enlisted veteran craft bartender Emily Delicce to unveil a Hello Kitty-driven cocktail program. Served exclusively at The Bow Room, the menu features bar classics, updated with sweet touches and modern twists. Rather than serving old-school Hot Toddies in tea cups, Delicce concocted a cold, creamy alternative. It’s become the cat’s meow.

HELLO KIT-TEA*

2 oz. Toki Japanese whisky

2 oz. Art of Tea Jasmine White Tip tea

2 tsp Depaz syrup

2 tsp Yuzu-lime juice

2 tsp Dolin Blanc vermouth

Garnish: Whipped cream and matcha powder, to taste

METHOD:

Place ingredients into a shaker.

Add ice and stir. Strain cocktail into a tea cup.

Top with heavy whipped cream.

Sprinkle matcha powder on top.

* This recipe was inspired by the Hello Kit-tea cocktail served at The Bow Room.

Jenn Tanaka is Coast magazine's managing print and digital editor. A Southern California native who studied under Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Barry Segal, Jenn was among UC Irvine's first literary journalism graduates. She went on to work with Gail Simmons at Food & Wine magazine before accepting a position at The New Yorker. Jenn earned a culinary arts degree at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York and cooked in a number of high-end restaurants with industry elites, including chef John Fraser, a mentee of Thomas Keller. Fraser's Dovetail earned a Michelin star while Jenn worked there as a cook. Jenn then helped Ruth Reichl and Francis Lam launch the now-defunct Gilt Taste by Gilt Groupe. She currently lives in Orange County, writes about food/fashion/cocktails and travels the world with her family.